The invention relates to a golf tee; particularly to a practice golf tee that is adjustable in height for supporting a golf ball at a desired elevation.
A tee for supporting a golf ball for driving the ball is well known and has long been in use. Golf tees come in various lengths and the height can be varied as desired by the depth that a tee is pushed into the ground at a golf course. Many golfers practice hitting balls at practice ranges that have hitting stations with synthetic turf mats having a permanent tee fixed in the mat. These hitting stations typically have a tee consisting of a soft rubber tube that extends at a fixed height above the mat. Golfers practice with different clubs ranging from wedges to super-sized-head drivers that can best be utilized to hit balls at specific and different respective height above the playing surface. Even golfers using the same sized club have specific preferences in the height for supporting the ball related to their particular swing. There is a long felt need for an effective adjustable golf tee.
There have been numerous attempts to design and develop an adjustable golf tee as evidenced by the large number of prior patents that have issued. Some examples of these prior art patents include: 6,328,663 to Lipstock, 6,086,486 to Murphy et al., 6,083,121 to Hovey and 5,885,174 to Barnes; along with the numerous patents referenced as prior art within these patents, as well as many others. For its simple purpose and function, the designs described in the prior art tend to be complicated with several components (some pivotal or requiring screw threads) and seem to be quite costly to manufacture and assemble, or otherwise may lack dependability or durability. For whatever reason, there are no well known adjustable golf tees currently available in the market, and no adjustable golf tees known for having commercial success.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable golf tee that is easy to adjust, reliable and durable in retaining the desired height during use.
It is another object to provide an adjustable golf that is robust in design for efficient tooling, manufacturing and assembly, and that can be marketed at a reasonable price.